Campus and community briefs

Les Miserables star to perform in Logan

Gary Morris Productions is pleased to present two holiday performances by Gary Morris and his band at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Dec. 9 and 10.

Morris and his band will perform traditional carols, seasonal songs, special arrangements as well as original music such as “My Son.” Some of Morris’ signature songs like “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “Bring Him Home” might also be included during the evenings fare. The shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

In 1984, Morris’ original rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings” won both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Song of the Year Awards. He played opposite Linda Ronstadt in a New York production of Puccini’s opera “La Boheme.” His appearance in “La Boheme” led to offers from Broadway where he accepted the daunting task of becoming the first American to play the heroic and challenging role of Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” now one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history.

Tickets ($30, $25, $20 and $15) are available at the Ellen Eccles Theatre Box Office. To order by phone, call 752-0026. The Ellen Eccles Theatre is located at 43 S. Main St. in Logan.

Students invited to concert, movie filming

A free concert is scheduled for Monday from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom.

The concert will feature five musical performers: Russ Dixon from Colors, Sarah Sample, JonesIn, Hercummer and Phil Leffler. Audience members will get to see a sneak preview of Aggie Pride, a student-produced mockumentary currently in production. The audience will also be filmed watching the bands for a scene in Aggie Pride. Students, faculty and community members are welcome to attend.

Student selected for leadership program

Audrey Hivner, a Utah State University speech-language student, was selected as one of 30 graduate students across the nation to attend the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP) in Chicago.

Sonia Manuel-Dupont, associate professor in communicative disorders and deaf education, said Hivner is an excellent student who was chosen from among many doctoral students to attend the program.

“Audrey is highly motivated, enthusiastic and willing to make major sacrifices to secure a better future for herself and her two sons,” said Manuel-Dupont. “She is an incredible student, a fabulous clinician and a totally devoted mom. We are lucky to have this inspirational woman in our program.”

At the leadership conference in Chicago, Hivner will participate in a set of leadership-focused educational programs and activities. Hivner will also have the opportunity to interact with leaders in the professions of audiology, speech-language pathology and other related professions. Hivner said she hopes to eventually be in medical research working with people who are recovering from strokes.

Landscape department names Swaner prof

Tamara Shapiro has been named the Sumner Margetts Swaner Professor of Landscape Architecture in Utah State University’s landscape architecture and environmental planning department.

Shapiro was selected for the position through a national search conducted last spring. She began teaching courses during the 2003 Fall Semester and will continue through a three-year contract. As part of the Swaner Professor, Shapiro will also direct the Swaner Green Space Institute. The institute supports responsible planning that incorporates community values, sustainable growth, conservation and restoration of open space.

“I am pleased to join the ranks of USU’s strong landscape architecture department,” Shapiro said. “I look forward to working with students to develop research that supports community-based, open-space, planning efforts.”